This section is intended to merely provide background for embodiments of the present invention and is not considered prior art in the claims.
With the development of mobile communication networks and the advance in terminal specifications, mobile communication terminals have become the necessity for modern people and have evolved into total entertainment equipment beyond typical simple communication devices or information providing devices.
Such mobile communication terminals have a function for performing short-range wireless communication, such as a near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth, in addition to a communication function through mobile communication networks.
NFC has a short communication distance and requires a separate wireless communication chip. However, Bluetooth has a relatively long communication distance and most terminals have a Bluetooth communication function equipped therein. Thus, various communication services are being developed using Bluetooth.
Further, service solutions for providing a variety of information to mobile communication terminals possessed by users are being developed using a beacon that utilizes Bluetooth communication. In this case, mobile communication terminals receive identification information corresponding to beacon devices and use the received identification information to acquire a variety of information.
Recently, mobile communication terminals are basically equipped with a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) function, and thus can use a function of transmitting BLE signals, in addition to a conventional function of receiving BLE signals.
In this case, electric field intensity of signals transmitted by mobile communication terminals may be used to find locations of the mobile communication terminals, and the locations may be used to provide various service information.
However, since transmission power of mobile communication terminals and beacon devices installed in a shop cannot be controlled depending on the size or other characteristics of the shop, a plurality beacon signals are transmitted even in a small shop and thus interference between the beacon signals may occur. Furthermore, since user information is provided whenever the user terminal is recognized, the user may be inconvenienced by receiving needless information.